Method and apparatus for slaughtering animals

ABSTRACT

An animal is slaughtered in a head-down position and is subsequently inverted after bleeding to place the hindquarters down while the animal muscles are still flaccid. The carcass is maintained in the latter position until rigor mortis sets in, the carcass is thoroughly chilled, or both. By positioning the animal carcass with the hindquarters down and with the animal muscles flaccid, the meat drifts or settles downwardly toward the hindquarters. Consequently, the meat is distributed more toward the hindquarters of the animal carcass where the more expensive cuts are located. Higher monetary value of the carcass is thereby achieved. To increase the movement of the muscle or meat toward the hindquarters, the carcass can be subjected to vibrations or shock in addition to the force of gravity. Also, this movement of the meat can be increased by subjecting the carcass to centrifugal force with the animal rotated about an axis which is perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of the carcass and is located nearer to the forefeet than the hind feet.

United States Patent 'Wallace 51 Apr. 25, 1972 [54] METHOD AND APPARATUSFOR SLAUGHTERING ANIMALS [72] Inventor: Charles H. Wallace, Sylvania,Ohio I [73] Assignee: International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation,New York, NY.

[22] Filed: June 18, 1970 [Zl] Appl.No.: 47,216

{52] US. Cl ..l7/45,l7/l, 17/24 2,882,833 4/1959 Reich ..l7/24X PrimaryExaminerLucic H. Laudenslager Anorney Philip M. Bolton, C. CornellRemsen, Jr., Paul W.

Hemminger and Walter J. Baum [57] ABSTRACT An animal is slaughtered in ahead-down position and is subsequently inverted after bleeding to placethe hindquarters down while the animal muscles are still flaccid. Thecarcass is maintained in the latter position until rigor mortis sets in,the carcass is thoroughly chilled, or both. By positioning the animalcarcass with the hindquarters down and with the animal muscles flaccid,the meat drifts or settles downwardly toward the hindquarters.Consequently, the meat is distributed more toward the hindquarters ofthe animal carcass where the moreexpensive cuts'are located. Highermonetary value of the carcass is thereby achieved. To increase themovement of the muscle or meat'toward the hindquarters, the carcass canbe subjected to vibrations or shock in addition to the force of gravity.Also, this movement of the meat can be increased by subjecting thecarcass to centrifugal force with the animal rotated about an axis whichis perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of the carcass and islocated nearer to the forefeet than the hind feet.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Patented April 25, 1972 3,657,770

2 Sheets-Sheet l I NVENTOR,

Patented April 25, 1972 3,657,770

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

[HA/471.55 MLAA'CA' METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SLAUGI-I'I'ERING ANIMALSThe invention relates to a method and apparatus for slaughteringanimals, particularly to achieve a more productive distribution of meaton the animal carcass.

In the slaughtering process, the animal is first stunned and then hunghead down by a shackle around a rear leg. The animal is then struck andbled after which hair is removed from the carcass or it is skinned,whichever is appropriate to the particular animal. After de-heading,evisceration, inspec tion, and splitting into halves, the animal carcassis moved to a cooler where it is chilled. During these operations, theanimal carcass is continually hanging with forequarters down although itmay be temporarily positioned horizontally in some instances tofacilitate removal of certain organs.

In accordance with the invention, after the animal is stuck and bled,and preferably after evisceration, but prior to chilling and prior tothe time rigor mortis begins to set in, the 1 animal carcass is turnedend-for-end. and hung with its hindquarters down. The meat, still beingflaccid, then tends to drift or settle toward the hindquarters where themore valuable cuts of meat exist. Consequently, more meat is shiftedtoward the more expensive cuts and the monetary value of the carcass isthereby increased.

In order to increase the movement of the meat toward the hindquarters ofthe carcass, it can be subjected to force. This force can be in the formof short repetitive forces, as vibrations or shocks, which can beapplied directly to the carcass or can be supplied by suitable mechanismthrough the rails from which the carcass is hung. The force can also becontinuous in the form of centrifugal force. To achieve this, the animalcarcass can be rotated about a vertical axis which is closer to theforequarters than to the hindquarters, and which is preferably in frontof the carcass. The short multiple forces, particularly more severe onesin the form of shock, need be applied only for a relatively short periodof time and need not be continued until the carcass is thoroughlychilled, rigor mortis sets in, or both. The continuous, centrifugalforce, on the other hand, preferably is continued until the meat of theanimal carcass is set, unless this force is sufficient to causepermanent physical movement or displacement of the meat.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to provide animproved method and apparatus for slaughtering an animal in which themeat of the animal is distributed more toward the hindquarters than istrue with the normal slaughtering methods and apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus forslaughtering animals in which the monetary value of the slaughteredanimals is increased.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof,reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic view in perspective of apparatus forcarrying animal carcasses along a predetennined path and for turningthem end-for-end;

FIG. 2 is a somewhat schematic side view in elevation of the apparatusof FIG. 1 but showing two carcasses before and after inversion;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing details of theconveying means of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a tong device for holding the animal carcass inthe inverted position;

FIG. 5 is a somewhat schematic side view taken from an upper angle ofmodified apparatus for conveying and inverting animal carcasses;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side view in elevation of conveying apparatuswhich includes means for applying repetitive forces to the animalcarcass;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view in elevation of modified apparatus forapplying repetitive forces to animal carcasses; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view, taken from an upper angle,

of apparatus for applying continuous forces to animal carcasses.

The slaughtering process for animals is generally the same whether theanimals be cattle, hogs, or sheep, for example. Specifically consideringswine for illustrative purposes, the animal is usually first stunned andrendered substantially unconscious by means of an electric current orgas. The animal is then shackled by a hind leg and lifted to a bleedingrail, hanging head down. A suitable blood vessel, such as the jugularvein, is then stuck and the animal bled completely as it is moved alongthe bleeding rail. The carcass is then lowered into a scalding vat tofacilitate the subsequent removal of hair and the carcass is thencarried by a conveyor through a dehairing machine in which the hair isremoved and, at this time, the carcass is also washed. lncisions aremade between the hind legs and the garn cords to receive a gambrel. Thegambrel is then inserted through the incision in the hind legs and thecarcass is hung thereby from a dressing rail. Here the carcass is singedand shaved to remove remaining hair.

The carcass is then de-headed, although this can be done at an earliertime, and is eviscerated. The rectum is first loosened and ligated toretain the contents thereof and avoid contamination. The carcass is thenopened by a longitudinal incision extending from the pelvic region tothe neck. With the animal carcass hung by the hind legs, this positiongreatly aids in retaining contents of the intestines and stomach. Atthis point, the carcass and the viscera are inspected, along with thehead, if not done earlier. The carcass can then be flushed and splitlongitudinally along the back bone.

At this point, in accordance with the invention, the carcass, preferablyafter splitting, is inverted and hung with the hindquarters down. Toachieve this, looped cords, preferably of nylon, can be employed, thesebeing wrapped around the forelegs and hung from hooks, which minimizesmarring of the legs and devaluation of the meat. As an alternate, a tongdevice having a plurality of prongs can be employed to engage the jowlsof the animal carcass and hold it with the hindquarters down in the sameposition as when held by the forelegs. The carcass with the hindquartershanging downwardly is then transported to a cooler where the carcass isretained in this position at least until it is thoroughly chilled, rigormortis sets in, or both.

By hanging the carcass with the hindquarters down when the meat isflaccid, the meat settles or slumps downwardly so that more of ittendsto be distributed toward the hindquarters. Since the meat towardthe hindquarters of the animal generally commands a higher price thanthat toward the forequarters, the monetary value of the carcass isthereby increased. For example, with hogs, picnics and boston butts arelocated at the forequarters of the animal and tend to move downwardlytoward the loin and ribs. The price for boston butts, for example, is 37per pound whereas that for pork loin is 5515 per pound, for illustrativepurposes. In the inverted or forequarters-down position, the loins alsotend to drift toward the hams at the rear quarter, which is notdesirable. However, this can be easily overcome during subsequentbutchering by making the cut between the loins and hams along a linecloser to the hindquarters than otherwise used. The position of this cutnear the aitch bone can vary up to 4 inches and still be consideredwithin good butchering practice. Hence, the cut can be made closer tothe hindquarters to retain normal distribution of the meat between theloins and hams.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, carcasses, or morespecifically carcass halves, l0 and 12, are shown being moved along anoverhead rail conveyor indicated at 14. At this point, the animal hasbeen stunned, stuck, and bled and the carcass has been de-headed,eviscerated, and split into halves. In the event the animal carcass hasnot been split completely, so that it still remains connected to one ortwo points, it is furthersevered into two separate parts when reachingthe left-hand position on the conveyor 14, as shown in FIG. 1. Thecarcass is now ready under the usual slaughtering processes to be movedto a cooler and chilled. Usually, before the carcass is chilledthroughout, rigor mortis has set in but, in any event, by the time theanimal carcass is chilled, the meat has set or become rigid and nolonger able to slump or drift.

In accordance with the invention, preferably after the animal carcasshas been processed, including being eviscerated, it is turnedend-for-end while the meat is still flaccid to enable the meat to settleor drift toward the hindquarters. To accomplish this with the conveyorarrangement of FIGS. 1 and 2, the conveyor 14 has a first, upper portion16, an intermediate slanted portion 18, and a second, lower portion 20.On each side of the conveyor 14, two additional railtype conveyors 22and 24 are employed. These are spaced from the conveyor 14 by a distancesufiicient to accommodate the carcasses 10 and 12. The conveyor 22 has afirst, lower portion 26, an intermediate slanted portion 28, and asecond, upper portion 30. The conveyor 24 similarly has a first, lowerportion 32, an intermediate slanted portion 34, and a second, upperportion 36. Hangers generally indicated at 38 are carried along the railconveyors 14, 22, and 24 with the hangers 38 on the rail conveyors 22and 24 moving at a faster rate than those on the rail conveyor 14.

When the carcasses 10 and 12 are in the'approximate lefthand positionsshown in FIG. 1, the lower portions are connected with the lower hangers38 on the lower portions 26 and 32 of the rail conveyors 22 and 24.Since the lower hangers move at a more rapid rate, they move theforequarters of the carcasses l and 12 forwardly toward the right sothat the carcasses are moved in a counterclockwise direction, as shownin FIGS. 1 and 2. As the hangers 38 approach the upper ends of theslanted portions 28 and 34 of the rail conveyors 22 and 24, thehindquarters of the carcasses l0 and 12 move below the forequarters andas the carcasses move further toward the inverted position, the gamcords of the hind legs can be severed to release the hindquarters from agambrel 40 which supports the carcasses from the hanger 38 on the railconveyor 14. The carcasses and 12 then assume the inverted positionshown at the right-hand side of FIG. 1. The hangers 38 on the upperportions 30 and 36 of the rails 22 and 24 then continue to move thecarcasses l0 and 12 in predetermined paths toward the cooler or otherdesired destination.

While many types of hangers can be used with the rail conveyors, onesuitable design is shown in FIG. 3. The hanger 38 includes a-roller 42which rides on the rail conveyor 14, 22, or 24, the rail conveyor 14being shown. A U-shaped strap 44 extends above the roller 42 and has aleg 46 depending below the rail conveyor where it pivotally receives ahook 48. The hook 48 can engage the gambrel 40 directly or, where thecarcasses or carcass halves are handled singularly, the hook can beinserted directly between the rear leg and gam cord of the carcass. Thehanger 38 is moved along the rail by suitable means such as a rollerchain 50 driven by a sprocket 52 and a motor 54. Links 56 of the rollerchain have dogs or tabs 58 extending outwardly therefrom into the pathof the U-shaped straps 44. The tabs 58 thereby engage the U-shapedstraps 44 and push the hangers 38 along the rail conveyor. The rollerchains 50 are not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for clarity of illustration.

In order to connect the forequarters of the carcasses 10 and 12 with thehangers 38 on the lower portions 26 and 32 of the rail conveyors 22 and24, straps or cords 60 can be tied or looped around forelegs of thecarcasses and engaged with the hooks 48 of the hangers. The cords 60preferably are of nylon and do not deface or damage the forelegs of thecarcasses. Since the lengths of the carcasses vary, the operators canadjust the loops and placement of the cords 60 on the forelegs toaccommodate these differences in length. Further, the hangers 38 arefree to move back and forth relative to the roller chain 50 a distanceequal to the spacing between the two adjacent tabs 58 so that thehangers 38 on the rail conveyor 14 and the rail conveyor 22, forexample, carrying the carcass 12, can move toward and away from oneanother by a distance equal to twice the spacing between the twoadjacent tabs 58. This enables the apparatus to further accommodatedifferences in the carcass lengths as the animal carcass is movedcompleted, the hangers 38 can be collected in a container in which theyare carried back to the beginning of the processing line andindividually mounted on the rail conveyor 14 as needed to carry anothercarcass. Thus, the hangers 38 on the rail conveyor 14 may besporadically spaced, according to production needs. On the other hand,the hangers 38 on the conveyor rail 22 and 24 preferably are spaced atrelatively close, equal distances so as to be in position when, neededto engage the cords 60 on the forelegs of the carcasses 10 and 12.

As an altemate to using the nylon cord 60 to connect the lower hangers38 with the forelegs, a tong member 62 of FIG. 4 can be employed. Thishas prongs 64 extending from legs 66 which engage the jowl portion ofthe carcass rather than the foreleg. Leg extensions 68 beyond a pivot 70are connected by a chain 72 which is engaged by a hook 74 of the hanger38 or other suitable hanger member. The tong members 62 can be engagedwith the jowls in varying positions to compensate for varying lengths ofthe carcasses.

Modified apparatus for inverting an animal carcass is shown in FIG. 5.This apparatus is designed. for lower production processing lines thanthe apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2. in this instance, a single overhead railconveyor 76 is employed. The conveyor 76 has an upper portion 78, anintermediate downwardly slanted portion 80, a lower portion 82, anupwardly slanted portion 84, and a second upper portion 86. The

hangers 38 or other hangers can be employed with the rail conveyor 76and can be moved therealong by the roller chain 50 of FIG. 3 or othersuitable drive means.

When a carcass 88, whether it is whole or a half, is moved down theslanted portion 80 of the rail conveyor 76, the carcass is deposited ona surface 90 of a turntable 92. The carcass is placed with theforequarters near the periphery and the hindquarters near the center asthe hangers 28 move from left to right in FIG. 5. When the carcass 88 issubstantially completely supported on the surface 90, the gam cord canbe severed to release the hook 48 from the carcass or the hook 48 cansimply be withdrawn from between the hind leg and gam I cord. When thehanger and the carcass are separated, the

turntable is moved by the operator or a motor drive, if desired, 180 tothe right-hand position shown in FIG. 5. During this time, the hanger 38also has traveled from the left-hand position to approximately theright-hand position as shown in FIG. 1 5. Also during this time, theoperator can attach the strap or cord 60 to the foreleg of the carcass88. In the second position, then, the strap 60 can be engaged by thehook 48 and as the hanger 38 is carried up the upwardly slanted portion84 of the rail conveyor 76, the carcass is raised and pulled off theturntable 92. The carcass then continues in a predetermined path alongthe upper portion 96 of the rail conveyor 76 toward the cooler.

While the carcasses are subjected to the force of gravity when hangingwith'the hindquarters downwardly, the movement of the meat toward thehindquarters can be increased by increasing the force appliedlongitudinally of the carcass toward the hindquarters. This force can bein the nature of short repetitive forces applied to the carcass or inthe nature of a continuous force applied thereto, in each case the forcebeing directed longitudinally of the carcass and toward the hindquartersthereof. I

Means for applying repetitive forces to the carcass is shown in FIG. 6.Here, a modified rail conveyor 96 has an upper edge consisting of aplurality of slanted portions 98 with offsets 100.

The rail 96 can be located between the position at which the the offsets100. A higher offset might be desired, for example, for lighter weightcarcasses, such as sheep, than for larger heavier carcasses, such ascattle. The hangers 38 again are moved along the conveyor rail 96 by theroller chain 50 or other suitable drive means.

Since the carcasses hang in the cooler for a period of time duringchilling, the short repetitive forces can also be applied while thecarcasses are stationary in the cooler. Referring to FIG. 7, the hangers38 and the carcasses, when reaching the cooler, are pushed by operatorsonto branch rails 102. In this instance, the branch rails 102 rest onsuitable supports 104. The rails 102 have upwardly extending straps 106carrying cam followers 108 which are engaged byrotatable cams 110 havingoffsets 112. When the cams 110 are rotated counterclockwise, the rail102 is slowly raised until the cam followers 108 reach the ofisets 112.The rail 102 then drops on the supports 104 and applies a sharp jarringforce to the carcasses hanging therefrom. The cams can be rotatedseveral times and then stopped, it not being necessary to continue thisjarring force until the meat sets. However, the force can be continuallyapplied as long as desirable, particularly if further settling of themeat continues.

One apparatus for applying a continuous longitudinal force to thecarcasses is shown in FIG. 8. in this instance, a truncated conicalsurface 114 is formed on a rotatable member 116 which is rotated througha shaft 118 and a motor 120, shown schematically. Carcasses 122 are hungby the straps 60, or other suitable means, and by hooks 124 on asupporting ring 126 at the upper end of the rotatable member 116. Whenthe member 116 is rotated, the carcasses 122 swing outwardly from thesurface 114 to prevent the carcasses and meat from being deformed asmight otherwise occur if the carcasses rested directly on the surface114. When the member is rotated, the centrifugal forces appliedlongitudinally of the carcasses toward the hindquarters thereof tends toincrease the settlement or drifting of the meat toward the hindquarters.1f the rotation is fast enough and if the centrifugal force is firmenough, the meat may be permanently moved toward the hindquarters. Atthis time, carcasses can then be placed in the cooler, hanginghindquarters downwardly until the meat sets. If the centrifugal force isnot strong enough to permanently displace the meat toward thehindquarters, then the rotation of the member 116 and the centrifugalforce applied to the carcasses can be continued until the meat sets,either by rigor mortis, orv by chilling, if the rotation is undertakenin the cooler.

Various modifications of the above described embodiments of theinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the an and it is to beunderstood that such modifications can be made without departing fromthe scope of the invention, if they are within the spirit and the tenorof the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A method of slaughtering an animal comprising connecting at least onehind leg of the animal to an overhead support to enable the animal tohang from the support with the hindquarters up, cutting a blood vesselin the neck portion of the animal, bleeding the animal while in the samehanging position, subsequently turning the animal carcass end-for-endwith the hindquarters hanging downwardly, and supporting the lattercarcass in the latte position for a time sufficient to enable the meatto set.

2. The'method of slaughtering an animal according to claim 1characterized further by splitting the carcass longitudinally in halfprior to inverting the carcass and hanging the hindquarters downwardly.

3. The method according to claim 1 characterized further by subjectingthe animal carcass to a continuous force in a direction generallyparallel to the longitudinal extent of the carcass and toward thehindquarters thereof prior to the setting of the meat.

4. The method according to claim 3 characterized further by establishingthe continuous force by rotating the animal carcass in a circular pathin a plane parallel to the longitudinal extent of the carcass and aboutan axis perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of the carcass andcloser to the forequarters of the animal than the hindquarters, prior tothe setting of the meat.

5. The method according to claim 1 characterized further by subjectingthe animal carcass to repetitive forces while hanging with the hind feetdownwardly and prior to the setting of the meat.

6. The method according to claim 5 characterized further by establishingthe repetitive forces to the animal carcass by applying the forces to asupport from which the'carcass hangs.

7. In a method of slaughtering an animal comprising connecting one hindleg of the animal to an overhead support with the hindquarters up,cutting a blood vessel in theneck portion of the animal, bleeding theanimal while in the same hanging position, de-heading and evisceratingthe animal carcass, and chilling the animal carcass, the improvementcomprising turning the animal carcass end-for-end with the hindquartershanging downwardly after eviscerating the carcass and prior to chillingthe carcass and maintaining the latter position of the carcass atleast'until the meat sets.

8. The method according to claim 7 characterized further,

by subjecting the animal carcass to a force in a directionlongitudinally of the carcass and toward the hindquarters thereof whilehanging in the latter position.

1. A method of slaughtering an animal comprising connecting at least onehind leg of the animal to an overhead support to enable the animal tohang from the support with the hindquarters up, cutting a blood vesselin the neck portion of the animal, bleeding the animal while in the samehanging position, subsequently turning the animal carcass end-for-endwith the hindquarters hanging downwardly, and supporting the lattercarcass in the latte position for a time sufficient to enable the meatto set.
 2. The method of slaughtering an animal according to claim 1characterized further by splitting the carcass longitudinally in halfprior to inverting the carcass and hanging the hindquarters downwardly.3. The method according to claim 1 characterized further by subjectingthe animal carcass to a continuous force in a direction generallyparallel to the longitudinal extent of the carcass and toward thehindquarters thereof prior to the setting of the meat.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 3 characterized further by establishing thecontinuous force by rotating the animal carcass in a circular path in aplane parallel to the longitudinal extent of the carcass and about anaxis perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of the carcass and closerto the forequarters of the animal than the hindquarters, prior to thesetting of the meat.
 5. The method according to claim 1 characterizedfurther by subjecting the animal carcass to repetitive forces whilehanging with the hind feet downwardly and prior to the setting of themeat.
 6. The method according to claim 5 characterized further byestablishing the repetitive forces to the animal carcass by applying theforces to a support from which the carcass hangs.
 7. In a method ofslaughtering an animal comprising connecting one hind leg of the animalto an overhead support with the hindquarters up, cutting a blood vesselin the neck portion of the animal, bleeding the animal while in the samehanging position, de-heading and eviscerating the animal carcass, andchilling the animal carcass, the improvement comprising turning theanimal carcass end-for-end with the hindquarters hanging downwardlyafter eviscerating the carcass and prior to chilling the carcass andmaintaining the latter position of the carcass at least until the meatsets.
 8. The method according to claim 7 characterized further bysubjecting the animal carcass to a force in a direction longitudinallyof the carcass and toward the hindquarters thereof while hanging in thelatter position.